Confused Eater

Hi all, long time no talk to. I hope your holidays were merry and bright… and you came away with plenty of new books to enjoy in 2016!

Over the holidays I finished our December / January read: In Defense of Foodby Michael Pollan. Our goal with this selection was to learn something new for the new year. And that I did. Pollan’s book was a very interesting look into our eating habits and the food trends we’re exposed to as modern Americans.

Pollan sheds light on the food industry as just another profitable business. If you think about it, this makes sense. Those operating in food-based industries are part of a competitive marketplace just like any other. So, as a result, producers make claims and alter their products to out sell the “other guy.” Although it’s a disheartening view, it’s good to be aware of this reality and to think before we eat.

However, reading this book left me feeling more overwhelmed than anything. There are so many layers to the food industry, true and false claims, healthy and unhealthy… my mind is spinning! Pollan even acknowledges this in his book more than once. All the facts he presents are a lot to keep track of, too much maybe, which is why I appreciate and believe in his distillation of all the facts into 3 simple rules:

Eat food

Not too much

Mostly plants

Basically, my recommendation to a potential reader would be to jump to page 139 (the third and final section)… the last 50 pages get to the point and are easy to grasp. Everything else leading up to this section is kind of just a lot of convoluted food industry politics.